Nahum 2:13

January 27, 2026 by Leave a Comment

“Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard” (Nahum 2:13).

I neglected to mention yesterday that this book is about Nineveh, the Assyrian city that Jonah was told to evangelize. On that occasion, which was 100-125 years before Nahum’s story, we see God’s offer of salvation to those who repent.

In Nahum, again, 100-125 years later, we see God’s response to a false or lack of repentance. In our verse, notice the Lord says, “I am against you!” No one wants to be in that spot, regardless of how much they may want to ignore God. After describing a variety of negative outcomes, he says, “the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.”

Reading this reminded me of an archaeology article I read over the weekend, which described the destruction of Nineveh both in its ancient fall to Babylon and when ISIS destroyed much of the Assyrian artifacts that remained into the 20th century.

The point that stands out to me today is that God graciously offers salvation to those who repent, and He stands on business with those who don’t repent.

Father, thank you for offering this sinner the chance to repent. Please help me to have a consistently repentant heart. Amen.

Filed Under: archaeology, Assyria, Babylon, devotional thoughts, Nahum, Old Testament, Sovereignty

Amos 4:10, 12-13

January 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment

“’I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord” (Amos 4:10).

In this chapter, Amos provides a list of 5 calamities the Lord sent upon Israel. After describing each calamity (hunger, drought, pestilence, etc), Amos recorded these sad words, “yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord.”

A few observations here: 1) calamity is a tool in the Lord’s toolbox. In this chapter, we see that God doesn’t just allow bad things to happen; He actually causes those things. 

2) God can do this without being guilty of doing wrong. This may challenge some who think too philosophically about God. The true God of the Bible may not always fit in neat philosophical categories. 

3) The condemnation “yet you did not return to me” suggests that calamity is not random; it has meaning and purpose. In these cases, it was used to draw Israel back to the Lord. 

If we take the approach that “bad things” cannot be from God, this chapter can not make sense. This forces us to take a larger view of the world around us. In fact, we should seek to recognize the Lord’s hand in all things happening around us. That is how Joseph responded to being betrayed by his brothers. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭20‬).

Father, please help me see your hand in this world, and help me to respond appropriately to the things that happen to/around me. Amen.

Filed Under: Amos, devotional thoughts, Genesis, Old Testament, Sovereignty

Jeremiah 49:19

October 11, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?”

Chapter 49 focuses on the surrounding nations that have come under God’s judgment. Verse 19 is focused on Edom’s inability to resist the mighty hand of God. Note the three questions offered in this verse: “For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?” In a word, nobody! These questions are designed to solicit a single response, reminding the hearer of God’s sovereign rule over the earth.

The lion imagery is intended to illustrate God’s activity in the details of life. He is not a sovereign ruler who remains at a distance. In fact, he is an all powerful who is involved in the very fine details of life.

Father, thank you that you are not only aware of what’s happening here, but you are involved in those things. Amen.

Filed Under: covanent, devotional thoughts, Jeremiah, Old Testament, Sovereignty

Jeremiah 40:1-3

October 2, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ‘The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you.’” (Jeremiah 40:1-3)

Interestingly, the captain of the guard is echoing Jeremiah’s warnings back to Jeremiah. Of course, the soldier is speaking after the fact. That means he has connected Jeremiah’s warnings with the actual event.

  1. Jeremiah’s God (YHWH) pronounced this disaster (ie, the destruction of Jerusalem).
  2. The Lord brought it about. He did what He said He would do.
  3. This happened because of sin.

I hope that I will be able to connect God’s word to my life as well as that soldier did.

Father, please help me to see your book, the Bible, as clearly as this soldier saw your word through Jeremiah. Amen.

Filed Under: Babylon, devotional thoughts, Jeremiah, Old Testament, Sovereignty Tagged With:

Jeremiah 24:4-7

September 16, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”

Jeremiah saw in a vision two baskets of figs, really good figs and really bad figs. In this passage, God comments on the basket of very good figs. The first thing that stands out to me is that God says he sent the exiles to the land of the Chaldeans, or Babylonians. This stands out because it demonstrates God’s sovereignty. Somehow, he has the capacity to use man’s evil actions to accomplish his purposes on the earth.

In Genesis, we see that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because they had had enough of him. He went through unimaginable suffering, yet at the end of Genesis. He could tell his brothers what they meant for evil, God meant for good.

These two stories, that of Joseph and that of the Babylonian exile, help me in days like these when it is easy to wonder where God is. Why would God allow (or cause) Charlie Kirk to be assassinated? If we can take a step back, though, we can already see that this event has allowed the ghouls to show themselves. The demons are on full display, rejoicing over the death of Charlie Kirk. Perhaps one of the important reasons God allowed this to happen was so that his children could see more clearly that we do not battle against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).

The important point, even when we don’t know exactly why God allowed or caused something big and negative to happen, we can trust that He is at work accomplishing his purposes.

Father, thank you for this reminder that you are not asleep at the wheel. Even when things seem out of control and unexplainable, we can rest easily knowing that you are at work. Amen.

Filed Under: devotional thoughts, Jeremiah, Old Testament, Sovereignty, Suffering Tagged With:
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